James Potter and The House of the Serpents
by hannaheart1497
Summary: James Potter,head auror is pulled back into the world of Hogwarts to investigate the death of fourteen year old Rosina Malfoy,he has to learn to navigate the world of the House of Slytherin, find a way to find the murderer before he claims his next victim and it all seems to lead to a small group of friends, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Ginny Weasley and Cressa Snape ,MPREG!
1. Files and Curiosities

**_AN:/ Okay here's the disclaimer, all book characters belong to J K Rowling and I claim no copyright to any of them, the only characters I own are the ones I made up. Please review, constructive criticism welcomed, please be nice! this is my first story_**

During his years in Hogwarts James could freely admit her was a bit of a smart arse, okay a huge one, In his seventh year the object of his teenage obsessions finally gave him the time of day, Lilly Evans finally said yes and for a short time everything was great until he saw a side of her, that made him regret ever wanting to be with her.

_James was doing a late night patrol, part of his duties as Head Boy, the quiet of walking through the dark corridors gave him a sense of calm and peace he only had ever felt in the air during Quidditch games. For the past few weeks Lily had been acting strangely, less willing to spend time together and always rushing of but he guessed she was busy studying as usual. Just finishing his rounds he heard a faint giggling sound coming from the transfiguration corridor, a smirk crossed his face - if you asked any fellow marauders that smirk meant trouble-, this was another perk, catching couples doing "inappropriate actions" ._

_With his signature smile in place he threw open the door with a shout " Well, well ... Lily?" he finished in a croak, not quite believing his eyes but there she was, shirt unbuttoned, bent over a desk with his supposed best friend Sirius Black attached to her neck. They sprang apart, Lily leaning on the desk with a smirk adorning her once pretty features, now all he saw was a monster, a user and abuser, this was her study time? He thought. " James..." Sirius started to say, reaching towards him, James just shook his head, tears building up in his eyes and with a poisonous glare, he turned and ran from the room._

It had been almost seventeen years since that day, James had never forgiven Sirius and completely went out of his way to avoid Lily Evans (nicknamed the bitch by Moony and Wormtail) and now at the age of 33 he was Head Auror, single and living a bachelor lifestyle, he despised it.

"Morning Auror Potter!" a ministry official called toward him as he passed, James gave a smile and a nod of his head, he loved his job it was just hard having everyone knowing his name, knowing who he was by his reputation and having no family to go home to, no pictures to put on his desk, no being able to say "thats my..." or "yes these are my children. He had changed a lot from his school days, no more messy hair or his arrogance, it actually sickened him to think he had acted like that.

Now back to the present, sitting at his desk looking over the case files he had been given, flicking through them he came to a halt at one name jumping out at him:

**_Name: Severus Snape_**

**_Age: 33_**

**_Cause of Death: Murder (suspected result of illicit activities)_**

**_Familial Notations: Left behind one daughter, Cressa Aylena Snape, aged 17, soon to start her seventh year at Hogwarts, close relations to Zabini and Greengrass families._**

That was a bit strange, during the height of the war Snape had been suspected of death eater activity but then suddenly dropped of the radar, he hadn't even knew Snape had a daughter, but looking at the timing of his vanishing act and the age of his daughter, it kind of made sense.

Incanting "expecto patronum" his familiar eagle appeared, he never knew why it took this form, "Hi Harris, do you think it would be possible for me to get a copy of a file under the name Cressa Snape, thanks! Potter". Watching the silvery form disperse, in the expected five seconds a slim gray file appeared on his desk, opening the file up he found a few things that just didn't add up:

**_Name: Cressa Aylena Snape_**

**_Age: Seventeen_**

**_Birth Date: 16th May 1980_**

**_Bearer: Severus Snape_**

**_Dominant Father: Unknown_**

**_Blood Status: Undetermined_**

**_Notes: Miss Snape appears to have great talent in the fields of Defense, Potions and Transfiguration, she currently is a seventh-year Slytherin at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she plays chaser on her house Quidditch team._**

What else stunned James, -apart from Snape being gay and a bearer!- was how the hell someone as unattractive as Snape produced someone who looked like her!, The girl had china- pale skin, with small delicate features and a mane of soft,silky looking red hair, the only thing she seemed to have inherited from her father was the piercing onyx eyes, seemingly scanning his soul even through the photo.

A knock on the door shocked him out of his staring match with a photo! (not that he would ever admit that!) Looking up he saw Kingsley Shacklebolt at his door with an almost terrified look on his face, "Boss, sorry to disturb you but we need to get a team over the Hogwarts immediately, there's been a murder, one of the students".

A murder? at Hogwarts that hadn't happened for years, "Okay let's go, but whose the victim and why do you look as if you've come out of a fist-fight with a dementor" he said trying to lighten the mood but Kingsley still looked as grave as before, " the murder victim is Rosina Malfoy sir..." well shit James thought, just what he needed to deal with today.


	2. Birth of a Snowflake (Severus Story)

Doubling over with the pain shooting through his belly, Severus Snape tried to keep on running and moving, crashing through branches, trying to make it to his destination, he needed to, for the sake of his baby girl, his little Cressa. Pushing through towards the dark looming form of the Whomping Willow, he finally made it to the doors of Hogwarts school, the one place he had sworn never to go back to again but now he had no other options.

He pushed and pushed himself until he finally collapsed just inside the Hospital Wing doors, Poppy cried rushing towards him, barely even blinking at the site of his swollen abdomen, she help him over to a bed and quickly got to work asking the usual questions, how far apart were his contractions?, was he getting ready to push?, he was panting and screaming at the top of his lungs, surely that was a clear sign he was in labour!

After what seemed like an age, he finally had his precious bundle in his arms, with her perfect clear skin, small tiny features and through her tiny slitted eyes, he could see she had inherited his shiny onyx eyes. Severus had never seen anything more beautiful in his entire life, no one could ever hope to compare to this tiny creature, not in his eyes. "she's beautiful Severus, congratulations" the voice of Albus Dumbledore came to his ears, "thank you, if you hadn't let us come here I don't know what would have happened to us", "Let us fill in the birth certificate, this is a joyful day for us all!". As Severus filled in the certificate, he could see the looks of pure shock on their faces at the name of the Dominant Father, well since the other father had been obliviated of their entire affair they should be, it had to happen but there was no other choice and now he felt as if he had been ripped in two but Cressa was slowly filling up a third place there.

Dumbledore started but he quickly cut him off, he looked at him beseechingly, Albus and Poppy both swore their oath, vowing never to reveal the father of his child, if the Dark Lord found out who she was destined to be, there would be a death sentence on her head for sure, he couldn't risk that, he would die first. He spent the next few days settling in to hogwarts and trying to control Cressa's new powers. Right now he was running around the room, well slipping would be the more appropriate word, while his little daughter sat on the table giggling away, eyes blazing the colour of fresh ice. Snow flakes in small simple patterns flecked around the room, suddenly there was a knock on the door.

"Cressa, Snowflakes" Severus said to his daughter, putting a finger to his lips, immediately her eyes faded back to their usual onyx shade and the snow melted and faded away.

Hours later, during the night Severus sat at his desk looking at papers, sighing his thoughts filled of his love and the fact he would never know the beautiful being they had created together, it was soul destroying. Looking over his daughters birth certificate again, he made his decision, if something were to happen to him someone had to know the truth, putting a copy of her birth certificate, a vile of pensieved memories and a letter in an ice blue box decorated with silver swirls, hoping this would never have to be used, he sent it away to Gringotts by owl, telling them to send it to the vaults and only to be delivered on his death.

Griphook looked over the contents of the box curiously and gave a harsh laugh when he read the certificate, , the certificate read:

**Name: Cressa Aylena Potter-Snape **

**Birth Date: May 16th 1980 **

**Bearer: Severus Snape **

**Dominant Father: James Potter**

**AN/ Sorry this is only a short chapter, but I really wanted this to be included early in the story,just a little look into Severus' thoughts and feelings since he's well dead in the main story, well hope someone enjoys this! :) bye bye**


	3. Murder In Hogwarts

Sitting in the Slytherin common room in her usual spot, half hidden in shadow by one of the few windows, it was one thing she had learned during her time here, she had to conceal herself and no one could know who she was, just like her father told her "you have to be unnoticeable, be unremarkable, the opposite of who you are". Cressa had kept to those simple rules, never breaking them, she had only three friends but that was okay, they were just like her, they were "_different"_.

It was hard growing up with her secret, the fact that whenever she got angry or sad things literally froze over, she made snowstorms out of thin air, once she got so angry she froze her father's hand solid. It terrified her of how out of control her powers got, then she finally met someone who set her on a path she would never take back for anything, she met Neville,

_Cressa was walking through Diagon Alley, she had got seperated from her father, the crowd just kept pushing,shoving and she felt like she couldn't breathe, she could feel the relay race her heart was going, the feeling of ice running through her veins, she had to get out of here! _

_Then someone ran into her side and knocked her down steps into what looked like a darker version of Olivanders, Elemental Obscura, it was called, hesitantly she pushed the door open and rushed inside, this place seemed safer than out there. "Hello.. " she called out hesitantly not sure what to do, the place was dark and musty, with walls lined with so many books, it should have been impossible for them all to fit._

_"hi, were you pushed in here to ?" a voice came from one corner of the shop, "come out, let me see you" she called, a hint of nervousness in her voice, she heard someone suck in a deep breath and a foot came into light. It was a boy, slightly pudgy with round cheerful features, leafy green eyes and a shy tentative smile, "I'm Neville Longbottom, you are ?" he asked, "Cressa, Cressa Snape, do you what this place is ?" Neville shook his head in reply, he reached out to shake her hand and the second they touched it was like a shock of fire ran through her, Cressa could feel her skin almost burning, looking at him, his skin was paling as If he had gone... oh god ice cold!, she thought._

_She sprang away from him and threw herself against the nearest wall, a mini-wall of Ice raised itself in front of her, "stay away! I don't want to hurt you!" looking at him Cressa gave a gasp, in front of him was a wall of pure earth, rocks and dirt sticking out like small daggers, ready to attack. "You're like me...?" Neville said, a cautious look adorned his face, the wall of earth slowly made its way back to the ground, it didn't look as if he was going to attack her, so she dropped mine too. "I've always been able to do this, father said I could do it before I could even walk" Cressa said, " me too..." Neville replied looking slightly in awe, but there was one emotion she could relate to, because she felt it to, the feeling of pure relief that she wasn't alone, she wasn't a freak!._

Cressa smiled to herself, that was the beginning of the best decision of her life, to find someone else who knew what it was like to have no control over something you couldn't understand, like taking a breath of fresh air. Together Neville and she worked to learn to conceal and control their powers, with the help of her father and Neville's Grandmother they could find new ways to help stop themselves from loosing control. They had never told Professor Dumbledore what they could do, despite Father trusting him with certain things, he said that this particular secret was to important for anyone to know, even him.

The sound of the wall leading to the common room opening made everyone -not just her- look up, earlier today in the middle of their transfiguration lesson, Draco Malfoy had been taken out of the lesson and lead away somewhere and no one had heard or seen him for the rest of the day. Strangely enough no one had seen his sister Rosina either, Rosina was everything a Slytherin should be by the house standards, Beautiful, Poised and Perfect, she never missed a lesson, it unsettled everyone in the house.

In walked their head of house, Professor Sinistra and there were at least three auror's with her, none of who she recognised. "Good, everyones here, I have something of grave importance to tell _all _of you and you will listen" she said this all in her usual low tone, never raising her voice, people exchanged glances all around the room, what could be so important that auror's had to be called in ?. "I am sorry to announce that today just after breakfast the body of Rosina Malfoy was found" she couldn't get anymore words out as there was an explosion of sound in the room, people shouting over each other, people shouting at each other, no one could fathom that the slytherin princess was dead, it just wasn't possible!.

"QUIET!" Sinistra roared, the loudest any of them had heard her, they were stunned into silence, "now each and every one of you will be questioned and we _will_ find out who is responsible for this crime, now everyone to bed the questioning will begin in the morning".

They all went to bed quiet that night, in the safety of her room Cressa rushed to the small box on her desk and pulled out her two-way mirror, "Neville" she called and eventually his face appeared before her, he looked just as tired as she knew she was, "Cress! thank merlin, Did you hear about the Malfoy situation! we're going to have to be careful the next few weeks", "Don't you think I know that! just get in touch with the other's somehow, the whole of slytherin's under house arrest until morning", "I will, see you tomorrow, usual place and stay cool", Neville's face disappeared and she was left with an uncontrollable

feeling of dread. After getting washed and changed into pyjama's, she lay down in her bed in the dark repeating the words her father always told her_ " Conceal, Don't let it control, never let go" _finally after a few hours she fell asleep, what she didn't notice was the frost climbing the windows.

The next morning walking into the Great Hall, the other house's looked, stared and whispered to each other, no one brave enough to dare question the house of snakes. Draco was there, sitting at the end of the table, away from everyone else, his eyes were rimmed red and he was paler than usual, Cressa found the others looking at her across the room but she couldn't make any movement towards them, today she had to be part of the unified front that was Slytherin. The door's opened revealing what looked like a troop of Auror's led by the Infamous James Potter, everybody in the wizarding world had heard of him, she could guess that he was handsome but for some reason he had never married, _must be lonely_ she thought.

Taking a place in front of the Head Table, Potter began to speak, "Hello everyone, I wish I could be here on better circumstances but we have a murder to investigate, we will do this House by House, starting with Slytherin as that is where Miss Malfoy spent a majority of her time, thank you". Of course, it was always Slytherin they started with, the _evil house_, Merlin was it to much to ask for them to be treated normally ? Cressa thought, the breakfast she ate that morning tasted stale, that seemed to be the general feeling through the table, Rosina's friends were emotionless on the outside but she would bet on the inside they were screaming for answers.

The entire day people were pulled out of classes, led away at lunch and slowly her anxiousness increased, the feeling of ice ran through her fingertips.. she was only _just _keeping herself in check. Classes were blur, all her concentration went into keeping calm and trying to stop the rising terror running through her, she couldn't let anyone know what she was, it wasn't just her at risk anymore, it was the other three too.

Then it came, an auror came to her at dinner, "Miss Snape, please come with me Captain Potter will see you now", nodding in reply I rose up on shaky legs and followed him through the castle, we eventually reached the office usually reserved for the DADA professor but it was set up with papers and pictures all around and sitting at the desk was James Potter himself, "Miss Snape" he said with an almost hesitant smile, "please sit down".

**AN/ Hi everyone! well this already has more views that I thought it would! so thats good, but please can someone ****review, just so I have some feedback or something! well if you have seen the movie Frozen you might see similarities between Elsa and Cressa, she is based off of her in a way but the eventual storyline will end differently, okay just doing another disclaimer! I don't own any of the harry potter characters they belong to J K Rowling! Bye :)**


	4. The Mysterious Pages

James had been going through the students all day, so far none of them showed any signs of contempt towards Rosina Malfoy, even the Gryffindor's seemed to like the girl to some degree or another, it just didn't make sense. Sitting at the desk in the DADA room, he looked over statements trying to find a common factor, sighing he looked at his list of students to interrogate, next was the object of his curiosity, Cressa Snape.

The door opened and the girl herself walked in, the photograph did her no justice, she was tall,slim and milk pale, the contrast setting of her flame hair, her eyes were cautious…no suspicious that was it, it was a look her father wore well, James gave her, what he hoped was a confident smile.

"Miss Snape, please sit down" he said gesturing to the chair in front of him, she gave him another nervous look and shakily took the offered seat, "well, you know why your here, don't you ?", she gave a quick nod "yes, I'm being questioned to see if I know anything about Rosina Malfoy's death", her voice sounded confident but there was an undercurrent of nerves in it, she was looking pretty suspicious.

James could see a look in her eyes, it was one he recognised, the look of being cornered, someone who was already getting ready to be attacked, what was this girl so afraid of?

"some other people in your house, say you had a difficult relationship with Miss Malfoy, would you care to elaborate ?" James realised too late that he sounded cold, almost calculating, the girls eyes froze over, 'shit, he thought'.

"Rosina and I didn't get along, we had.. Different priorities in life" that was definitely a Snape-esquse answer, snarky and to the point, "Such as …." James queried, he had to get something out of her. "Rosina was more concerned with how the public saw her, whether it being the way her hair sat, to the what style of robe she wore to an event" Cressa's smile was beginning to wear a bit on James, she might not look like a Snape but that personality shone right through.

"So Miss Malfoy was a social butterfly and you were …" His words drifted of, not sure how to finish that sentence without insulting the girl, Cressa let out a rough laugh, "Don't worry about insulting me Captain Potter, surely you've heard what the rest of the slytherin's think of me by now", 'shrew, witch bitch and snarky little fuck just to think of a few' James thought, he could see why.

The rest of the interview went what could be considered well but James was left thinking that there was something about that girl he was missing, something that Cressa Snape was hiding, one minute the girl was quiet,submissive and then the next she was defensive and snarky to the point of being mean. There was something between Rosina Malfoy and this girl that no one was telling him and he was determined to find out, even the teachers were a bit cautious around Cressa.

During the dinner feast, the whole hall was subdued, there was none of the chatter and rowdiness that he remembered from his time, he noticed that Cressa was sitting slightly separated from the rest of the Slytherin's, they all seemed to be avoiding the area where she was sat. Then he saw something that really caught his attention, on the other side of the hall, Neville Longbottom folded a piece of parchment into a ball, put it in his fist and shook it three times, there was a small puff of smoke and then it was gone. Over at the Slytherin table the piece of parchment landed directly next to Cressa's hand, she picked it up and pocketed it, giving Neville a small nod that looked like she was moving her hair out of the way.

Cressa pressed together a small piece of parchment and shook her fist three times, the same puff of smoke and then at the Ravenclaw table Luna Lovegood raised an eyebrow at the small note that landed neatly in front of her, like Cressa she pocketed it. Another thing he noticed about the snape girl was that she constantly rubbed at a small winding bracelet on her left wrist, the motion seemed almost repatative, looking back at Neville Longbottom he noticed he had a similar looking band but it was a red colour.

When dinner was over James watched Cressa in particular, for one she didn't leave in the direction that the other Slytherins did, she turned towards an old corridor he couldn't remember seeing as a student, he hid behind one of the pillars and waited. A few minutes later, Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley appeared and moved through the corridor, after five minutes Luna walked through the passage, looking around to make sure no-one was following, he walked through the archway and down the corridor.

The walls in the corridor were beautiful, the place had looked dark at the beginning but now with light coming through small windows, James could see murals swirling through the walls, strands of icy blue/silver, fiery red, earthy green and watery blue/brown that moved around four figures, this image was repeated all the way through.

Finally reaching the end of the corridor, he saw an ornate door with all four house colours mixed in an intricate design, it was left slightly ajar, so he could take a look through, inside was a warm looking room, large and oval shaped and split into four separate corners, Cressa Snape was standing in a corner decorated as if it had been made purely out of ice, Neville was in a corner made of purely red and brown woods, giving of an over all feel of fire, Luna's corner looked like it was made of flowing water with swirls of green mixed through and finally Ginny Weasleys space was given the look of a woodland oasis, the oak desks and the tree green walls gave a comforting effect.

"So, Potter suspects something" Ginny snapped making a gesture towards Cressa, "I don't know!" she snarled back, "you think I just click my fingers and I read minds!" the look on Snape's face was one of pure fury and what looked like desperation, "Easy" Neville said, placing his hands between the two in a calming motion, _peacemaker _James thought. Luna was sitting in the chair in her corner, humming under her breath but her eyes never left Cressa, she was analysing everything in the room, her fingers were running over her wand in a motion he had seen Mad-eye used plenty of times. "Don't look at me like that Nev, it's obvious our resident snowstorm over there had something to do with Malfoy's death, she was iced over!" Ginny shrieked, "it could have been anyone with a good cooling hex and you know it" Neville snarled back causing a slightly shocked look to cover Weasley's face.

"Cress didn't have anything to do with this and if you think so then leave" He snarled out, turning and wrapping his arm around Cressa's shoulder's, who had collapsed onto a silvery couch with her head down. Ginny's face turned regretful for a second, she took a step towards Cressa but then turned and walked back to her brownish corner, looking as if someone had kicked her in the stomach. James turned back down the ornate corridor and back to the familiar halls of Hogwarts, he didn't know very much but he knew that he might have a lead in the case.

Hours later in his office, James was looking over a book of old folklore, he had found legends referring to water nymphs, dryads and air spirits but nothing that made all of them connect to one another. He was getting reading to pack up his belongings for the night, when a group of pages landed on his desk, he frowned picking them up, **_The Legend of The_ Elementals**, _**Slytherin and His**_** Elementals **were the two titles, curious he settled down to read them, not noticing the pair of violet coloured eyes watching him through a passage in the wall.

_**AN:/ Sorry for not updating in a while, I just had to figure out what I was doing with this story and where it was going to go.**_


	5. Cressa Interlude

Cressa was in deep shit, someone had killed Rosina Malfoy and had used something that mirrored her own powers and now Ginny believed that she had something to do with it. When your in Slytherin you get used to people distrusting you, even hating you but someone you had been friends with for over three years, you would expect them to believe you no matter what right ? she thought to herself. She walked back towards the common room, the corridors where dark and shadowed, she never usually stayed out this late but she hadn't had the choice, with Neville's impromptu meeting.

"Well look who it is boys" a slimy voice drawled, Cressa groaned under her breath, Blaise Zabini walked out of the shadows, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, Cressa guessed that since Draco was indisposed, they were taking Zabini's orders for now. "What do you want Zabini ?" she snapped, immediately on the defensive, the way they were looking at her didn't make her feel very safe. Zabini leered at her, taking a few steps towards her, "well Snape, I've decided you look decent enough, your of good blood," he back her into a dark alcove, "you could be a good match for me" he finished, the look on his face made Cressa want to go and scrub herself clean. "I don't think so" she snarled shoving out at him, she was very aware of the cold feeling running through her fingers, he gave a smirk "who said you had a choice darling ?" he posed it as a question but she could here the underlying tone of it, she didn't have one.

They tried to close in on her but she darted her arm out, swinging it into Zabini's gut, he let out a gust of air, she didn't waste anytime when attacking Crabbe and Goyle, they were easy to dispatch. As soon as she had the opening she needed, she ran as far as she could, not even once looking back, she couldn't risk it, it might slow her down. Cressa finally reached the wall to the common room, "purity forever" she gasped out, she quickly arranged her hair and clothes back into place, weakness was just a sign for trouble in Slytherin. She walked in, keeping her head high and walk confident, her eyes scanned the room seeing everyone in their usual places...minus one. Rosina's usual chair was empty, it almost looked like some sort of funeral shrine, the morose feeling dripping from it practically filled the room.

Cressa quickened her step and finally reached her room, she let out a small gasp of air, slipping down to the floor against the door, letting her head fall back. Her head was resting on her knee's, everything just seemed to be going to hell. Her powers were going out of control, someone had died and James Potter was in the school, everything was falling apart and so was the secret she had to guard with her life.

The next day everyone seemed sluggish to Cressa, as if the world was slowing itself down, Rosina Malfoys death was draining everyone's energy and no one seemed to know what to do. Draco was going through the motions, his face was in a state of pure emotionless, he didn't let his feelings show at all and it was worrying the rest of the slytherins.

_**AN: Sorry for the short chapter but this one was difficult to write, I know its pretty crappy but I promise the next one will be longer and it will be good! I just need the time to review everything and write it all out. review please!.**_


	6. Attacks and Blood Spills

Cressa had spent most of the day watching Draco Malfoy, she didn't know why she suddenly felt like she had to make an effort with him, she never had the urge before. Maybe because his sister had died and she could understand the feeling of loss but then no one really wanted to make the effort with her and to be honest she wasn't safe enough to be around at the best of times. The other slytherin's were watching her carefully, it was well known in their house that Rosina Malfoy hated that 'Snape Freak' and made that well known to everyone in Slytherin, inside the common room she was downright spiteful and cruel but no one would ever admit to that now she was dead, bad press you know ?.

The school day was filled with suspicion and whispers and bets, people wondering who made the killing and why ? to the rest of the school Little Miss Malfoy was the perfect student, one of the nice slytherin's, _'stupid little sheep' _Cressa thought, watching the masses walk by from her perch in the highest corner of the elemental towers. The place was a merlin-send to Cressa and the others, a safe haven where they could practice their magic and work on their skills, when they weren't trying to kill each other. The thing with Ginny was really starting to get on her last nerve, the fact that someone she trusted and respected would think so low of her was almost soul destroying for Cressa but at least she still had Neville and Luna.

She sighed her eyes falling on the Black Lake and the small circles of tree's just before the forbidden forest started, she had spent a lot of time there with her Father when she was small. Her Father's death had hit her hard, the only stable person she had in her life, her only confidant that she could trust with absolutely anything in her life was torn away from her.

Sure she had Albus, Minerva and Poppy but there was only so much they could understand, only so much she could actually tell them and only so much she actually wanted to trust them. The feeling of the bars of the railing freezing, the metal getting just a little bit cooler shocked her out of her thoughts and she threw herself backwards. She sank down against the ground, feeling like her head was going to slit in two while she pulled and pulled at her hair, she felt like she was cracking in two and there was no way she could put herself back together again, reaching inside the pocket of her robes she pulled out a small silver razor she had taken to carrying around with her. She looked at the light glinting of it as she brought it down to her arm.

**_NEVILLE POV._**

Neville was starting to get worried, so far the rest of the school was in a state of shock, the aurors were crawling everywhere and the one thing on his mind was that he hadn't seen Cressa anywhere, even in their Defense class. Even Ginny was starting to get worried, despite her suspicions about her she still cared about Cressa and she knew this wasn't like her, Luna's year and house were in interrogations today so she wasn't around to provide any insight, the last time Cressa had disappeared like this she had ended up on top of the astronomy tower and not to watch the stars.

He could barely focus in any of his classes, lunch had no taste in his mouth and every time someone in a slytherin uniform he looked up hoping to see the familiar flame hair and dark eyes but still no sign of her. He was finishing up in his herbology lecture when Ginny walked into the Greenhouses, "still no sign of her ?" he asked, pulling of his gloves and rolling down his sleeves, Ginny shook her head, "no sign, she isn't anywhere she usually would be" her face showed concern and some hints of anger.

Before they could say anything else there was a scream from the corridor, not the laughing kind you heard between friends this was a high pitched wail of pure terror, the kind you saw in those muggle horror films. They both rushed down the corridor to see a mix of auror's and students swarming around something, the closer we got Neville pulled Ginny to a stop, "look at the ground" he murmured urgently, Ginny looked down and suddenly went pale, the ground was covered in a sheen of black ice, swirling and looked deadly unlike the stuff you saw on a winters day, "shit" she murmured.

They both turned tail and sprinted down the corridor not seeing James Potter look at them strangely as they both rushed past, "that fucking bitch this proves it!" Ginny hissed as they rushed down the elemental corridor, "we can't blame her until we know for sure" he hissed back, the look of outrage was clear as day on his face, they both burst into the room so focused on their argument that they didn't notice the thick red substance running along the floor until Ginny almost slipped on it. "What..." she mumbled, looking along the floor to see a long white arm covered in blood barely visible past the chair in Cressa's corridor, "no, no" she mumbled, the anger draining out of her as she rushed over letting out a wail at what she saw, falling to her knee's she cried out "Cressa !".

The sight that met Neville's eyes felt like it drained the life out of him, Cressa was lying spread out on the ground, her arms spread out as if she had tried to get up and had fallen back down again, there were three deep cuts across each arm, her usual pale skin had paled even further to a greyish colour, the life seemed drained out of her onto the floor, the only sign she was breathing was the slight hitch of her chest. Ginny fluttered her hands over her, not sure what to do, hell even Neville wasn't sure what to do, this seemed hopeless.

"Oh God" a voice drifted from the door, he looked over to see the Auror James Potter himself standing there starting at Cressa in pure horror, he quickly rushed forward casting some spells that stopped the bleeding coming from her arms, another provided a blue liquid mask that looked like it aided her breathing. "someone run ahead and get Madame Pomfrey" he said urgently, for a second Ginny looked too shocked to move, "Now!" he barked, the panic seeping through in his voice. Ginny snapped out of here daze and practically launched herself at the door knocking Neville aside in her haste.

James stood up casting a quick levitation spell raising Cressa's limp body up in the air, "come on, we need to get there quickly my healing spells won't hold long", Neville nodded and followed Auror Potter as he sprinted down the corridor, practically running himself to try to keep up. People stopped and stared, the slytherin's in particular looked shocked at the sight of one of their own lying limp in the air covered in blood, "OUT OF MY WAY!" Potter roared, the crowds of students cleared, terrified at the sight that met their eyes and the expression of the famous auror's face.

Madame Pomphrey was waiting for them, "bring her in" she said urgently, Ginny was waiting by the door's with Luna by her side the both of them were in tears, they tried to follow through after James but Madame Pomphrey stopped them "no you have to stay out here, we need as much space as we can, I'm sorry" she rushed out before rushing over to where Cressa had been carried around a large white screen, blocking her from their view.

**_JAMES POV._**

James had never been more terrified in all his life, even when he faced all the death eaters and dangerous criminals this was by far the thing that sent him far out of his depth, seeing the snarky, confident girl from earlier lying motionless and deathly pale on the floor was too much of a shock to his system, it was only by his Auror training that he could hold on to his stomach.

He laid the girl as gently as he could on the bed set out for her, Poppy rushed over looking down at the girl with an expression of pure sadness, then she threw on her mask of professionalism, "I need you to help me as best you can" she said urgently, moving a tray of potions, bandages and other instruments he didn't recognise.

We worked for what seemed like hours, patching up the wounds the young girl had made in her arms, the sickness from the quick infection that had spread through her blood, then trying to regulate her breathing was the most difficult part of their operation. James was no healer not by any manner of means but he was trying his best to save this girl, for some reason protective instincts that he never knew he had had flared up at the sight of her, it was almost paternal and he had no idea where that had come from.

They finally managed to get her stable, while Poppy cleared away all the tools she had been using, James all but collapsed into the nearest chair, sweat dripping down his face, his eye's drifted over to the other victim today, Astoria Greengrass fourth year Slytherin. Something was happening with the Slytherins this year, first the Malfoy girl, then Cressa attempts sucide and then another is attacked in broad daylight in the corridor.

He heard a slight change in the breathing of the Snape girl, her eyes were rolling under her eyelids, her head moving from side to side, James leaned forward, "Cressa Snape, can you hear me ?", he got a light groan in return, then her onyx eyes opened, clouded with pain. Just as he was about to ask her a question someone barged into the hospital wing, it was Draco Malfoy and he looked furious.

**_AN:/ WELL FOR A WHILE I WAS THINKING OF GIVING THIS STORY UP FOR A BIT IF IM HONEST, I DIDNT HAVE MANY REVIEWS SO I THOUGHT NO ONE REALLY LIKED IT, THEN A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE HAS ENCOURAGED ME TO KEEP THIS GOING AND ALSO A SHOUT OUT TO SWEATTEATWO FOR MAKING ME WRITE AGAIN._**

**_OKAY SO PLEASE REVIEW AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! BYE :)_**


	7. The Dragons Fury and James make mistakes

_**draco's pov.**_

Draco Malfoy was to put it simple _pissed_, first his younger sister dies then there is an attack on the girl he has just been engaged to and then finally the one slytherin who doesn't annoy the life out of him tries to off herself, just what he needed this week. No one else in the school not even Cressa's little group of misfits knew that they were friends or even passing acquaintances, it had started in their second year, Father had been pushing him for better grades and more actions against the muggle borns, he'd been crying in one of the hidden corridor's not many people knew about for weeks.

_He had been heading to there when he heard the soft sounds of someone else crying, it was lighter than anything else he'd heard but he could tell the voice was a girls. Looking around the corner he saw a mass of red hair, at first he thought it was a Weasley but then he caught sight of the Slytherin uniform, he froze for a second there, there was only one person who had that colour of hair in their house and that was the daughter of their frightening head of house._

_Draco couldn't think of any reason why Severus Snape's daughter would be crying but then no one really knew her to be honest, Snape had kept himself in seclusion after the end of the war as far as everyone else knew and no one had any clue that he even had a daughter before she started Hogwarts. _

_He stepped forward tentatively while lightly rapping on the nearby door, her head whipped around faster than anything he had ever seen before, her facing draining of what little colour she already had. He put his hands up in a calm down motion "it's alright I'm not going to say anything", she back away as he approached, "stay...stay back please!" He didn't realise at the time what she was warning him away from until he saw her hands, where one had landed on a stairway railing, it had frozen over, slick and almost icy clear._

_"what is that ?" Draco murmured reaching out to touch it, Cressa practically threw herself against the wall._

_"Stay back! " she cried out, "I don't want to hurt you, please don't make me hurt you" Draco could see that the girl looked like she was seconds away from throwing herself of the nearest set of stairs, "please i think i could help you" he managed to get out but stopped when Cressa's face turned almost feral in rage._

_"what would you know Malfoy!" She screamed, tears falling from her eyes, "perfect pureblood Malfoy with his perfect life!". Draco felt anger fill him him, rising up inside him like a snake waiting to pounce, he reached forward and shoved the girl back against the wall, " you don't know anything!"._

Draco pulled himself out of the flashback, his eyes focusing on where Cressa was spread out on one of the hospital beds with James Potter hovering over her, the rage he'd been fighting with since he'd been pulled into Dumbledore's office and now seeing that bastard leaning over her was the last straw. He marched over not caring that the man he shoved backwards was the head auror, he just acted like a complete Gryffindor, fucking brilliant.

"Stay the fuck away from her!" he shouted, putting himself between Potter and his friend, "What the fuck are you playing at Malfoy!" Potter looked furious and confused at the same time but to Draco, he looked fucking constipated. Draco was about to unleash one of his many witty comments when a small hand brushed his arm, and a small voice reached his ears.

"Dray please" she sounded so weak to his ears, he whirled around throwing himself into the chair Potter had vacated, "why are you so stupid Cress" he whispered looking at her face, her usual luminous skin had paled almost greyish, thick black rings around her eyes and a look of pure exhaustion. Cressa gave Draco a looked that screamed pure sorrow, as if she wasn't going to live any longer like this, "No, no Snape you don't think like that not ever!" he whispered furiously, the thought of Cressa ever leaving him was too much for him to ever consider.

"Excuse me what are you doing!" Potter's annoying voice broke Draco's staring match with Cressa, he dragged his eyes over to his annoying face and felt the rage from earlier build up in him, he moved forwards and shoved himself at James, "what does it have to do with you Potter ?" he sneered.

_**JAMES' POV.**_

James was loosing his last straw with this boy, Draco Malfoy, the older brother of the young lady whose murder brought him here was supposedly the epitome of pureblood to the Slytherin's, if that was true why was he defending an undetermined girl who had a known half-blood for a father. But James' wasn't really focused on that right now, he was focused on the fact that Malfoy thought he had to protect her from '_him'_, he felt as if there was something he was missing.

"Don't talk to me like that boy" he let out as a warning but Malfoy didn't seem to pay any mind, every time he made a movement to Cressa, Malfoy moved so she was out of his line of sight. Speaking of the Snape girl she seemed as if the life had been drained out of her, there was some colour returning to her face but it still seemed as if she was lifeless, right now she was struggling to get Malfoys attention away from him. Malfoy brought James' attention back to him by shoving him away again, hissing "stay away from her Potter!", He snarled and was tempted to pull out his wand, barely remembering he was supposed to be the '_adult'_ in this situation.

"Listen you little shit.." James started to say before the cry of "WHAT IN MERLINS NAME IS GOING ON HERE!", 'oh shit' James thought as he turned to face the wrath of Poppy Pomphrey, looking over he could see why she would be so angry, here were two men who appeared to be ready to start a full blown duel over the bed of a girl who could have been dying at least half an hour ago. Looking over at Malfoy he could see that he had also paled to the colour of sour milk and was slowing trying to backtrack some sort of story or explanation for the scene they were causing.

"Poppy..." James tried to say but Pomphrey wasn't having any of it, "OUT! Now Potter and you too Malfoy!" she roared, moving into position to get the both of them out of the hospital wing. Malfoy tried to protest but he was being herded out bit by bit, we were both thrown out of the wing and Malfoy sneered at Neville Longbottom and Ginny Weasley, then moved down the corridor. James was stunned, one minute he was waiting to question Cressa Snape the next he was thrown out like he was a student again.

Ignoring the questions everyone was asking James headed to the office he'd been given, getting ready to give the inevitable report he had to give to the auror's under his command. In just under 20 minutes he had his entire aurora guard waiting for orders, "okay men," he started but quickly added the "and women" seeing the looks on a few of their faces.

"Today there was a second attack on a young slytherin female, this one was a year older than the first victim but was from a well-known pureblooded family. Miss Astoria Greengrass was last seen before her attack heading from the transfiguration halls." the looks on the auror's faces screamed that they were not looking forward to dealing with this at all.

"What about Cressa Snape ?" a voice sounded from the back, "yeah, most of the people we have questioned say she could be involved!" another shouted, James sighed, not quite sure how to answer that question himself.

_**Cressa's POV.**_

Cressa was lying staring at the ceiling groggily, she tilted her head to the side to see what looked like Poppy arguing with her friends and Draco.. well he was in a category all on his own. She could hear Poppy berating them that "the poor girl needs rest, not a hoard surrounding her!" or her personal favourite "the girl is too delicate to hear this!", Cressa let out an annoyed noise at the sound of that one.

There were a few things she could have gone without one was Draco and James Potter going at each other's throats over her sickbed. "Now could you explain what you were thinking exactly ?" Poppy's voice reached her ears making Cressa jump. To be honest Cressa didn't know how to answer that question, she gave a sigh at the look on Poppys face, "I'm sorry Poppy I really am I don't really know what I was thinking", that didn't seem to satisfy her.

She was about to say something else when the doors burst open and what seemed like a legion of aurors walked through, "whats going on!" Poppy demanded looking just as shocked as Cressa felt, "sorry Poppy but this needs to be done" Potter said, then he turned to face her,

"Cressa Snape you are under arrest for the suspicion of the murder of Rosina Malfoy", 'well shit' Cressa thought.


	8. Gemini Memories

One thing Severus Snape never thought would happen in his life, was his only daughter being locked up in Azkaban. Earlier this year Albus had helped him fake his own death, the rise of deatheater activity was making it too dangerous for him to risk Cressa's safety anymore, with her powers growing even more out of control, he was left with no other option. The thing he regretted the most was Cressa being left in the dark about the whole plan, the fact that his own daughter believed him dead killed him inside.

The memory that was provided of his own funeral was almost too much for him to watch, the sight of her on her knee's sobbing and crying, the frost creeping over the ground showed how much Cressa couldn't do this on her own. The entire plan had been a mistake but it was one that had resulted in consequences they had never thought to plan for.

Severus had been watching the information the auror's provided about the murder investigation of Rosina Malfoy, they were on the right track, they just had the wrong person who committed it. He rose and stood over the pensive he had placed in the far corner of his room, reaching for a small silver vial, he poured the contents in.

Bracing himself, he threw himself into his own memory.

_He stood in the far corner of the hospital wing, the sight of himself giving birth was one he had hoped he would never have to see again. Poppy rushed off to fetch the headmaster thinking she had more time, this was the moment she didn't see. _

_Left on his own, he had given birth to his first child, in the last hours of October 30th Seth Snape was born, he watched himself life the shaking bundle in his trembling arms, seeing the horror in his expression as the babies eye's flashed pitch black, thick sheets of heavy black ice framing the windows. _

_Hurrying as the sound of footsteps reached him, he watched as the baby disappeared into thin air, then before he could react to the loss of his child the labour contractions of the next arrival began. Severus looked away, focussing on the window's watching as the black ice turned into a lovely shade of crystal blue, the first rays of the sun causing small rainbow coloured light to shimmer through._

Steadying himself as he was thrown out of the pensive, he knew who was killing the students at Hogwarts, it wasn't Cressa, it was the older twin no one knew about, the one who was stolen before he could be saved.

He readied himself getting together his heaviest cloak, the back of proof and the half memory, ready to try and prove his daughter's innocence before whoever turned her brother, got to her too.

**James Pov.**

James Potter could say this was the worst mistake he had ever made in his life, Cressa Snape hadn't even fought them, even as her friends screamed murder at them that she was innocent, even the other Slytherins were up in arms. She had been led down the main corridor in chains, the other houses watched on in shock, the expression on her face was blank, not giving away if she was even the slightest bit frightened.

He had then been summoned to the headmaster's office, Proffessor McGonnagal didn't even glance at him, the same went for Poppy Pomphrey who had put up just as much as a fight as the students. Looking up at Albus confirmed he had made the biggest mistake, the kindly blue eyes were frozen to sleets of icy grey, in the corner of the room stood a cloaked figure in black, the face hidden by the thick hood.

"How nice of you to join us Mister Potter" the cold voice of the one he'd seen as a father figure reached James' ears, he flinched slightly but then raised himself up, "who's this ? I thought this was a private meeting ?".

The glare he received was one that made him almost think that for once Dumbledore might actually attack him but the figure stopped him. An elegant, pale hand reached out and touched the great sorcerer's arm, "don't Albus, it's time he knew" the voice was familiar but he still couldn't place it, all he could tell was that he was a male.

The man moved towards a corner of the room, moving aside a screen to reveal a pensieve, "it's time you all knew" the figure murmured pouring what looked like memories into the object.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder, he looked behind to see Minerva pushing him forward, Poppy and Albus moving with them, before he could protest he was thrown into the silvery basin.

_He fell to his knee's with a gasp, looking around to see himself back in Hogwarts, it looked to be around the time of his seventh year. James froze when he caught sight of his ex Lily, this was just after he'd discovered her with Sirius, when they broke the Marauders into pieces. _

_"__Please James!" her high pitched voice shouted, "it was nothing and your the only one I want to be with" the fake tears were streaming down her face but his counterparts face remained blank as he walked down the corridor, shoving Sirius off as he tried to stop him. _

_"__Wait' he thought, 'this means whoever this memory is was at Hogwarts with me'. He followed himself down the corridor, leading him to his safe place, the hidden room at the top of the Astronomy Tower. "What are you doing here" the voice from before sounded, he hurried round the corner to see...Snape ?._

_Severus Snape was sitting in the corner of the room, tears running down his face, "GET OUT POTTER!" he roared, "No Snape, I wont ". James was stumped then, he couldn't remember anything like this happening, so why was this memory showing it._

_Snape rose to his feet, looking incensed, "WHY DO YOU CARE POTTER!, POOR SNIVELLOUS SNAPE...!" he was cut off when his counterpart threw himself at him, forcing him into a kiss._

He was thrown out of the memory, one again landing on his knee's, a sharp shooting pain shot through his head, seeing a large white light forming infront of his eyes. Word's and phrases passed through his mind, as if two separate James' were fusing together.

_"__I Love you Sev", "A baby! it's the best news in the world!", "i wont give up on you", "YOUR NOT A DEATHEATER!", "STOP DONT!"._

He felt like he'd been thrown against a brick wall, the pain shooting through his head was excruciating but he remembered what he'd been missing all these years, he knew what he'd been made to forget. James remembered falling in love with Severus, he remembered the life they had been building together, then he remembered the threat of Severus' family's death eater tendencies and then finally figuring out about the pregnancy. Then it was like that part of his life had been removed from his memory, he never knew about his child, about Cressa because in his mind someone had made him forget.

Now the pensieve memory made sense, it wasn't someone else's it was his own, "James" Albus' voice sounded, his hand rubbing at his back trying to help him stand up.

He looked up to see the person he most wanted to ask the questions too, Severus' expressive dark eyes, the ones that matched their daughters.

"Hello James" His love said to him, his face filled with grief and sorrow, then it hit him, he'd sent his own daughter to Azkaban, not being able to take anymore, James fell into a dead faint.


	9. Reunion

Watching James collapse to the ground made everything harder now, Severus knew that the shock of the memories would cause a reaction but he didn't ever consider it could be this strong. He rushed forward to catch James as he fell to the ground unconscious, "Jamie" he murmured while running his fingers over his hair, relishing in the feeling of it after so long of being separated, even this small act felt like a monumental act.

Poppy came forward, bustling over them both while casting what looked like a preliminary medical spell, "what's wrong with him" he asked urgently, clinging onto James like he would disappear.

She smiled reassuringly at him, "don't worry dear, he's just a little shocked by everything, he'll be fine in a few hours". That was a relief for Severus, he was always worried about the day he would have to give James his memory back, the after effects of every other case, well they hadn't been the best.

It had been hard raising Cressa on his own and then not being able to tell her where her father was, not being able to tell the truth to others when they asked. But now all of that could change, it could change for the better finally, all they had to do was get Cressa out of Azkaban and back to safety.

There was still the fact he had to tell everyone about Seth and there was also the fact he had to reveal to wizarding world exactly what his daughter and her band of friends were, that was one risk he wasn't sure he was willing to take. The last elementals had been feared above all else, tied to Slytherin himself and they had wrecked havoc on the world, the mere thought of them scared most pureblood's.

Severus was brought out of his musings as James began to stir, "James..." he murmured helping the man stand, James looked almost scared to look up, "Jamie please.." Severus whispered urgently, he was aware of the others leaving the room.

Finally James met his eyes, the tears welling up in them was heartbreaking, "Sev" he croaked out, before he fell in his arms, they both sat there for a while, just holding onto eachother.

It seemed like forever passed, Severus was just enjoying the small fact that they were finally reunited, he didn't know if this would last but he had to hope.

He could feel James trembling beneath him, shaking hard with the shock running through his system, finding out the person you had sentenced to Azkaban was the daughter you never met, he might not be able to comprehend something like that.

**AUTHORS NOTE: ****Hi, sorry to everyone who had been reading this story, I did sort of semi abandon it, I just didn't know what direction it was going in to be honest but now I think I have an idea, this is a filler chapter to get back into the swing of things, so it is quite short but there should be a longer one published two weeks from today. Any questions to ask? leave a review!**


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